Catching a Raven

Hey! It's been a month since my last post, and that may originate in the fact that I haven't been doing that much reading in the past few weeks.

So, since I last posted on here, I decided to end the month of March by finally picking a book off my shelf that's been sitting there for years: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I tried reading her other series--Shiver--but didn't really enjoy it enough to continue. Even this book, I tried a couple times but could never get into it. But third time is truly a charm--I got dragged into the world of Glendower and Henrietta, Virginia, a world that is beautiful, magical, and sometimes terrifying. Where there is Nino's and Monmouth Manufacturing.

What really got me is Stiefvater's writing style and how realistic her characters are. All of them are flawed, sometimes so much so that I get angry with them. In the case of Ronan, I range from being agitated with him to wanting to give him a hug (he'd probably shove me off). The same situation applies to Adam. Then there's Gansey. Oh Gansey, never has there been a rich boy like you in literature. He knows he's entitled and blessed with his life and his wealth, and he struggles to be appropriate to those that don't come from his world. He commonly makes offensive remarks to Adam and Blue without intending it, and I think that is what's so great about his character. He tries to be the kind guy, but it can come off as condescending. He struggles to find a middle ground, which is a nice approach for a teenage millionaire. Blue is a special entity upon herself. I want her to be happy and feel like more.

Of course I got into this series with the dawn of its conclusion in the near horizon (my copy of The Raven King was shipped out yesterday!) and I've been rushing to catch up. Unfortunately, after blasting through The Raven Boys I couldn't find the sequel, The Dream Thieves, at any local bookstores. I had to order it online and wait for it to come in the mail, and by the time it did, school had engulfed me again. I wasn't able to finish the sequel until today which gives me only six or so days to get through Blue Lily, Lily Blue, the third book in this series. Usually that wouldn't be much of a challenge, but AP testing is soon upon us, along with several finals and projects. I'm really hoping I can steal some time to fit in this beautiful book!

The Raven Boys: 5/5 stars
The Dream Thieves: 4/5 stars

Hitchhikers and Hamilton

YO. So I finished 2 books this month--I think? Maybe 3? In all honesty this month has been a bit of a blur. Between college decisions (a new form of misery and elation bundled together) and a strenuous senior year and soccer season back in motion, time is just...not there. At least not there for me to read, write, or update this blog.
But here I am. Finished gov reading, finished psych homework, and it's time to update my life.

For starters, I finished reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams this past weekend on my camping trip (in which Fran was in attendance of). The book had some amazing elements to it, such as it's satirical wit and SPACE. Conversely, sometimes the sci-fi sections were too much and confusing, and this is coming from a girl trying to write a space opera. Either way, this story was full of a lot of humor and great quotes and interesting characters. My attraction to the book was solidified by it's first page alone. With its laughable criticisms of humankind, I knew I'd discovered a book that fulfills one of my criteria: poking fun at human nature.
I'm excited to read more of Adams' works within the Hitchhiker's galaxy, but with how much I have to read, I don't know how soon that will be.
4/5 stars

"Arthur blinked at the screens and felt he was missing something important. Suddenly he realized what it was.
"Is there any tea on this spaceship?" he asked.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Now, to the latter of this entry's title, something that is totally unrelated to my reading: Hamilton. GUYS if you haven't listened to the Hamilton soundtrack yet...please, listen. From a girl who spent several years of her youth listening to Wicked on repeat, this musical is amazing. Like, history with rap and pop and a diverse cast that doesn't care about what race the Founding Fathers were? Where can you possibly go wrong, especially when Lin Manuel Miranda is at the forefront.

Thus, to lead you in your listening of Hamilton here is a list (what a surprise) of my top 10 songs:

1. Washington On Your Side 
2.  Right Hand Man
3. Satisfied
4. Alexander Hamilton
5. Take A Break
6. What’d I Miss
7. Wait For It
8. My Shot
9. Your Obedient Servant
10. Non-Stop

Do note that this is an extremely loose list. Like my Star Wars score list, it's fluctuating constantly. Also, if you really are reading this and thinking about listening to Hamilton, please do so in order of the actual album, not this list. You get the story (and the emotions!!) by listening in order.

So yeah, there's March. Binge-listening to Hamilton, suffering under school's reign, and occasionally reading and writing. Big emphasis on occasionally.

Currently reading: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Book Thief by Mark Zusak (both for school)

The Burden of Aspiring Writers

Another episode in which I deviate far from the contents of what is entailed in a "book blog." But I feel as though this is some noteworthy things to share.

That's a misleading title though because first off, I am not writer. And I don't think I will ever have the courage or persistence to consider myself as one. For the past four years or so, my mind has always been coming up with these new stories and ideas that never make their way onto paper. Little snippets of scenes are the closest things I have to a finished product, and it's so infuriating. Although there are the joys of being stuck in your own little world, the means of getting it down on paper is extremely difficult. It's maddening and horrible and intensifies my mental instability to an all-time high.

Here's a journal entry I wrote about my frustrations and it sounds absolutely insane for people who don't know what I'm talking about but I swear it pertains to my creative process 98% of the time.

3/6/16

An Open Letter to My Characters

The thing is that I've given up so much of my time for you. I could be 60 pages closer to finishing Crime and Punishment, I could have been working of my makeup work for Stats, or I could have been revising my extended essay. But I dropped it all and I will keep on dropping everything until you have finished your business with me. 

I understand that I am blaming you for the procrastination that I have imposed on myself, but every year this happens. You are taking a toll on my mentality and physically making me sick from exhaustion. My mind can't ever think straight without reverting back to you. Like what in the actual fuck??? Who does that???

All I ask is one thing: for you to tell me your story. But every time I try to give you time to expose yourself, you somehow always change your mind. I'm left with wasted hours of staring at a blinking cursor or a blank page. You have led me to believe that mental constipation is just as bad as actual constipation. (I should know. I am a veteran in both areas.)

I know it's nice to be able to dream about things like this, but no one really tells you how exhausting it all is. Writing a novel - writing anything that is valuable enough to be read in public - is such a laborious job. 

So please, just stop wasting my time and tell me what you want to tell me. 

-fq

A couple days after I wrote this, I found a video that perfectly describes everything I feel in regards to the pressure of being creative and being successful in channeling that creativity. I highly recommend watching Elizabeth Gilbert's (author of Eat, Pray, Love) TED Talk linked below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA

Crime and Punishment

It's March and this is the first book I have finished this year LOL.

And yes, I broke almost all of the points listed on my New Year's Checklist. My apologies. 

Anyway, I was assigned to read Crime and Punishment for my IB English class and although it was cool to be learning about Russian literature, I had to trudge my way through the denseness in this book that so often put me to sleep. You're essentially in the mind of a killer and taken through the journey of guilt eating you from the inside out. (There were a lot of prepositions in that previous sentence, please ignore them.) First of all, the names take a bit of getting used to: Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov, Razumihin, Pulcheria, they all sound like a type of exotic fruit. After the first 60 pages or so, however, you get used to it. The next challenge would then be your ability to stay awake through the explanations of abstract ideas. For example, Raskolnikov, the main character, has a theory about humans being separated into either the "ordinary" or the "extraordinary" and how these labels play a crucial part in the advancement of society and the justification of breaking the law. That whole section took me about three times to read over because I did not understand what the hell they were trying to say. Dostoyevsky does a good job of manipulating the readers into sympathizing with characters that would typically be seen as antagonists. In fact, almost all of his characters were very complex and elicited a strong emotion of either hatred, pity, or admiration at one point or another. I don't know if it's because the work load was relatively heavy or if it's because the book is really meant for more highly intellectual minds, but I found myself getting more frustrated than interested throughout the book. However, I do feel really accomplished to have finished this novel. It definitely would not have been something I would have picked up on my own, so I'm glad that I was exposed to a new type of literature. 

Goodreads summary: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7144.Crime_and_Punishment?from_search=true&search_version=service

Rating: 3/5

Leap Day Shenanigans

Leap Day has extended the pleasures of February while also prolonging high school seniors' sickening anticipation in regard to college acceptances that come with March. I'll be ignoring my own unease (I got into two of my dream schools this month though!!) in favor of recapping the month.

I've only read one book since my last post: Nine Stories by JD Salinger. Salinger has yet again reaffirmed my love for him and his writing style. His short stories are all unique but in that same tone that is undeniably Salinger-y. His characters are some of the most realistic ones in literature, the stories are raw, and his dialogue flows so smoothly. I admire him, so much so that I purchased his other collection of short stories, Franny and Zooey, today.

Talking about my book splurge, here are the reads I snatched today (when I ditched school lol)

1. Franny and Zooey
2. The Sirens of Titan
3. Tao Te Ching

Funny enough, I was borrowing the Tao from my friend but decided to buy my own, Barnes and Noble Classics copy. It has some really good life advice, and the excerpts relate to some bits of my current WIP. 

Reviews of each of these books will come one day, but I'm currently back on the Captive Prince series with it's sequel, which FINALLY came in the mail. Have to admit, I'm kind of irritated that the dialogue uses ' rather than the classic " but we'll see if I adjust to it later in the book.

While my reading hasn't been the most productive, my writing has! From January 31st-February 28th, I wrote 20,778 words with my WIP's total word count being 48,931 currently. Hopefully the trend will continue into March and I can wrap up this novel before senior year is over! And shout out to Fran, the best beta-reader-editor ever. 

Ratings--

Nine Stories: 5/5 stars

Currently reading: Prince's Gambit by CS Pacat

Currently listening to: The Clone Wars Score

Currently watching: The Clone Wars, The 100

Reading and Writing

Hello!
While February is a month defined by love (thanks Hallmark), for me, it's been filled with reading and writing. On the last day of January, I started tracking how much I write a day and honestly I've been doing pretty well. From the 31st-12th, I wrote a total of 12,921 words, which averages close to 1000 words a day so woo! Hopefully I can wrap up the first draft of my current work in a few more months.
With the writing aspect out of the way, we get to the main part: reading. I finished two books this past week, and while neither were blow-outs/five stars, they were better than anything I read in January. My books of choice were Lost Stars by Claudia Gray and Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat. Both earned a 4 star rating but for entirely different reasons.


Lost Stars is a part of the new canon Star Wars universe. It covers everything from A New Hope to the Battle of Jakku that followed the end of Return of the Jedi. But instead of through the eyes of the main cast, we're given protagonists Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree. Through the story, the pair goes from best friends to lovers to enemies (based on their status, not on their hearts). While the story was a better take of the Star Wars universe compared to episode VII's novelization, it still wasn't amazing. The characters were just okay, though the romance was real. There were some moments I loved, some lines I loved, but nothing made it extraordinary.

Captive Prince is the first book of a trilogy I've seen all of my favorite authors rant about. I decided to pick it up for their sake and wow. This book is sensual and enrapturing. It has a very unique and diverse setting, and the manipulation and deceit of Vere's court is compelling. This book was in no way intended for young readers. It has some very graphic scenes, including mentions of rape. That said, I found it a captivating read and finished it in only a couple days. It wasn't given a full 5/5 due to overflow of information thrown into your face that could become hard to take apart. Also it's anti-climatic end. Still a great read and can't wait to read the sequel, Prince's Gambit (which I can't find ANYWHERE)

Other notes to my life in February--
Currently reading: Nine Stories by JD Salinger and Hamlet by Shakespeare (school)
Currently listening to: Jupiter Ascending score by Michael Giacchino (especially the First and Fourth Movement)
Currently watching: trying to catch up with season 3 of The 100 and Boys Over Flowers, marathoning Lord of the Rings trilogy, and American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson

Happy Valentine's Day!

Another pointless post by Fran

I haven't posted anything in a while because I don't have anything to post about and it's infuriating!
I don't have any books to read or stories to write. I could have used finals week as an excuse but since I'm a worthless piece of human, I'm not spending any time on that either. (Evident in using this time to blog instead of studying for my huge bio final coming up in 12 hours).

Alyssa, on the other hand, has published parts of her work on wattpad and you should definitely check it out. (Alyssa's Wattpad account)

After this week, I will try to read and write more actively. If any fellow bookworms are actually reading this, please recommend me some good books! I'd greatly appreciate them.